MIRAMSHAH, June 4: A curfew was imposed here on Sunday after militants attacked a paramilitary checkpost in the Datakhel area and two soldiers were killed and three injured when a convoy hit an improvised explosive device in Shena Khowar, about seven kilometres from here.

One soldier was injured in the attack on the checkpost. He was identified as Kamal Bhittani.

The convoy was en route to Miramshah, the North Waziristan Agency’s headquarters, from the Datakhel area.

Hospital sources said that a Khasadar soldier was killed and another wounded, while nine civilians were injured, when Cobra helicopters fired rockets on hotels and other public places in the main bazaar in Miramshah.

The sources said that three children were among the injured. A mosque, four hotels and two vehicles also came under fire. Security forces fired 130mm artillery and machine-gun shots from the scouts’ fort, which damaged some nearby buildings.

According to eyewitnesses, gunshots were heard in the main town soon after the security forces’ vehicle struck the explosive device. After the incident, security forces started heavy artillery fire from the main base camp.

They said that troops the artillery fire and rockets hit four hotels in which three people were wounded. Cobra helicopters shelled markets and residential compounds, the witnesses said.

Officials said that troops had fired in self-defence after the paramilitary fort in the town had come under fire.

A resident said that two Khasadar men, identified as Gul Shireen and Hassan Khan, were injured. They were taken to a local hospital where Gul Shireen died because of severity of his wounds.

Three children, who were in a dry water course, were hit while the firing on the mosque injured three people. The local vegetable market also came under attack.

Some of the wounded were identified as Zubair Khan, Faqir Mohammad, Munawar Khan, Haider Khan and Sardar Khan. All of them are said to be civilians.

Heavy shelling from helicopters and artillery fire rocked the town and thick smoke was seen billowing from hotels and other buildings. Two pick-ups loaded with vegetables caught fire.

Officials said that security forces had thrown a security cordon around the troubled town and the administration clamped curfew for an indefinite period. Residents have been warned not to go out of their homes. Helicopters kept hovering above the city throughout the day.

Agencies add: The Khasadar (tribal policeman) was killed in the exchange of fire while trying to run for cover, an official said.

After the mine blast that hit the security forces’ convoy, security forces attacked positions in Miranshah, that were apparently being used as militant hideouts, residents and the intelligence official said.

According to the military, more than 300 militants, including foreigners, have been killed clashes intensified between the security forces and militants in the North Waziristan tribal agency since an air strike on an Al Qaeda compound in March.